Improved washing machine



@geiten tait -igtw fgt? and of the pounder B B.

J.` W. WET M o R n, 0 F E n.1 E, Pn N NSYL'V AN I .iii-f- LettersPatcntNo. 68,921, dated September 17, 1867; antedater September 7,1867.

IMPRO'VED `WASHING MACHINE.

To ALL WHOM `IT MAY coNoEnN:

Be it known that I, J. W. WETME, of Erie, in, the county of ric, andState of Pennsylvania, have l invented a. new and useful WashingMachine; andI do hereby declare that the following is :if-full, clear,and exact description of the construction andoperation of the same,reference Vbeing had to the annexed drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspectiva'icw. Figure 2, avertical longitudinal section through :u y, figs. 41 and 2,representingn section of the box E F,

Figure 3, a view ofthe bottom o' the pounder.

Figure 4, aview of the separator; and t Figure 5 a view of across-section of the bottom of the pounder through z', iig. 2, or z e,iig. 3.

Fig. 1. A, themash-box., about four feet long, twenty inches wide, andeighteen inches deep, with slanting sides, and perpendicular ends. B,the rockingr pounder. C, handle, frame, or lever, by which thc pounderis moved back and forth. fg h t', weight-box. tand 1,1., staples towhich hooks are attached, such as iv rv, iig. 2.

Fig. a b, curved base-pieces of the pounder. c e, slats fastened to thebase-pieces. These are represented by ij, iig. 3. (Z d,India-rubberpiecos nailed to these slats. They are seen infull at k l,iig. 3. ii i, movable slats with notched ends, fully shown in fig. 5,and at m n, 82e., fig. 3. 'lhey are heldin place as represented, andslide readily in the grooves. n, fixed slat, fastened to thobase-pieces. g h,`iig.`3, isthe view oi' it from the under side of thepounder. jj, pins ofthe separator. i Zm, separator', used to keep thesliding-slats apart when the pounder is used only for pressingtheclothes, which are placed on the bottom of the box Gr p r, one of twowire springs inside of' the posts, the upper ends fastened to the bracesat r, and the losvcr ends to the movable slat n. The places oi'fasteningthe lower ends are g and g, iig. 3. When the separatoris removed` andthe hook, which is on n, isvreleased from thc'catch on n,fthc springsdraw all the movable slats together back towards e j', iig.,3. EF,section of the wash-box. G K, section of the shit-bottom of thcwash-box.` w x, hook to hold the pounder up while the clothes arearranged. Lt/,wedge to hold the separator. z h, hinged staples to holdthe end ofthe separator.

Fig. 3. The movable slats are represented ns drawn back, leaving a spacebetween the slatsgt arid g g. r r, notches in the slatsg'in which totake hold of the slatg q, to draw it back'tobe hooked by w. s, placeofthe catch of the hook u', on the opposite side. w, hook to hold q gback and take the pressure off of the movable slats. a: y, line of thesection through the bottom, represented by iig. 2. The base-pieces,springs, standard-braces of fig. 2, arc then represented, Vas viewedfrom the inside of the pounder.

Fig. 4. a b, separator. e, wedge of the separator. d d, wedgeshaped`pinsthat ta-ll between the movable slats. ff, two of the movable slats.` gand l. z', staples to hold thc separator in place.

The machine is operated as follows, thc (references to the drawingsbeing twig. 2 unless otherwise specified z) 'lhe pounder is lockedback,`as represented. The separator lb is removed, and the slat n drawnback and fastened by the hook w, iig. The movable slats are all thenslippedV back together, and rest against n. The lighter articles to bcwashed are then drawn half through between thc flexible slips-cl, andtheslats e, their ends hanging down. One of thc heavier articles, which isuncqually soiled, is placed above the movable slats, and the soiledparts, such as wristbands and neckbands, arc thrust through theopenings, and held by the slat pressed against them. Another of theheavier articles is placed above these slats, and the parts to be washedplaced below through the' space /r/'and slot z" pressed against th'em,andV so on until all the articles are placed or the spaces occupied. 1'lhe slut n is rcleasedfrom the hook and is drawn back by the springs,

thereby pressing all the movable slats together. Hook w a: is thendetached at rc, and the pounder B is rocked y by the lever or handle Ron the bottolnG K. The proper pressure is then obtained by varying theweights in the box gff. While these articles are thus held by the slats,others may be placed on the bottom, and the pounder rocked over them.With the separator in place, the 'pounder may bc thus used without anyarticles held by the slats. i v t The principle of my invention is, theholding of the articles to be washed on'the under side of the rocking;pounder, and alternately pressing them on to the bottom 'of thewash-,bos and -lifting them from iti' l i ss,s21

Other modes of applying the principle are as follows Instead ofthe-springsp 1', fig :2, there can be strips of India rubber nailed onor near the ends of the movable slats, connecting them together and tothe fixed slatfe, fig. 3. This would do away with -the necessity ofusing the separator. The pounder may be4 constructed with all movableslats or with them all fined.v The handle C, fig. 1, may be a singlebnr, attachedat l.

The pounden may also be rocked by a. rope reaching 'from Zto n and d,iig. 1. Openings may be cnt in the movable slats, as marked at op, fig.3, and the pounder then lised without putting in the separator.

What I claim as my invention, and desire t-o secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The slats t'j, faced with flexible strips k Z, and the movable slatsm n, fig. 3, constructed and operated as described. v

2. The combination in the pounder B ofthe slats, faced withl strips k Z,movable slats m n, hook 1v, iig. 3,`

weight-box gf, leyer- R, and springsp r, fig. 2., arranged as and forthe p'urpo'ses set forth.

3. The combination ot' the separator Z'm, tig. .m'vith the pounder B, asand for the purposes described..

J'. W, WETMORE. Witnesses:

E. GAMPHAUSEN, Gmo. W. WALKER.

